You all probably know this but I have been looking for a definitive book on Bluewater flyfishing and found the best that I could find... If you are looking for the same thing pick up Trey Comb's"Bluewater Flyfishing"..excellent on every aspect including all species...but what really impressed me is the Fly Patterns which can be done for stripers as well.. We have seen most of the patterns but the ones in the book that are the same in Veverkas book seem to have clearer recipies. Check it out if you have not already.

Okay, since it seems to be my role in life, I'll throw some water on the party

Randall Kaufmann's Bonefishing is a great book. Bluewater Fishing isn't.

The book seems to be aimed at a strata of folks who don't need the book, if they exist at all. All this talk of breaking rods before, or just as the tippet breaks... C'Mon... I fished 6 foot straight 20 lb Mason leaders before switching to fluorocarbon and more "fancy" leaders. Hate to say it for fear of what may happen, but never broke a rod. Landed tuna in the 25 to 30 pound zone in 20-45 minutes. Never spent an hour on a bluewater fish yet as long as the rod was appropriate... it just isn't written for the same folks the steelhead books were written for... Fishermen like us. If I had read the book before starting off in the world of bluewater, I may never have done it because of his horror stories.

The rigging info is good, and the fishing techniques, when they are given are good too, but it could use more, especially with the tuna species.

Oh yeah, the salmon chapter? The chinook info seems to be based on ONE fish. Go back and re-read it. The narrative and the pictures sure are! 2 or 3 shots of the same fish with captions like "A chinook..." when it should have read "The chinook..." That is a little unethical...

That being said there is no competition, and I would LOVE to see a new edition of the book with info on all the new gear and lines and flies and the techniques that have been developed in the south pacific.

Translation, just because he's relatively full of it doesn't mean it's not entertaining. It's just not great.

__________________
"I'm not fat, I just have a sweet hockey body!" Eric Cartman

Well, that's obviously just my opinion and the series of flies is great,(in my humble inexperienced opinion), especially the series on the sea habit bucktail.... But I like books for their entertainment value and there are simply not enough books around on bluewater flyfishing...Kaufman's
is twice the cost as well . What I should have said is that it is great to me since I do not have the opportunity yet to do even a small amount of Bluewater flyfishing at all....love the pictures and the rigging is large and clear. I think you can learn alot from any reading, especially if your experiences are different from what you read... the Striper books ,for example, are basically all the same... where to find fish, how to fish them, what flies, etc, etc...The estuaries, the surf..on and on...I look though them to find something different... If all we have is two books to compare, it is better than books that don't touch on flyfishing, like a Book I just got called "TUNA"...forgot the author...but all about spreader rigs, Penn Internationals,,,Blah,Blah , When I caught tuna on those rigs, all I had to do is reel and shout to the captain to stop the engins since it was harder to reel them in with the boat cruising...thanks for the thrill but no thanks....Like the blue fish charters..keep trolling even when hooked,it gives the folks the feel of a greater fight than if the boat was stopped. ( I know the story is to keep the fish out and not have to reel those fish in by trying to recapture line with a fish turning toward the boat ...but still....)

But Philster, if you ever get a chance to fish for what you out there in teh west call dorado and what we here in the east call dolphin, you will see what I am talking about. Also my buddy got to go to Costa Rica last march for sails. It was, again, exactly the way as described in the book.
I did notice that the saltwater salmon descriptions were indeed pretty lame. But the other stuff is right on.

Bone Fishing is also a very good book. I am lucky, because my wife alows me to have two. Haven't fought a fish for more than an hour? Keep fishing in the sea.
Wasn't it Randall Kaufman who said,"When setting the hook on a Tarpon, feel for the corner of it's mouth."? Who is he writing to there?

"But Philster, if you ever get a chance to fish for what you out there in teh west call dorado and what we here in the east call dolphin, you will see what I am talking about. Also my buddy got to go to Costa Rica last march for sails. It was, again, exactly the way as described in the book. "

If I had to count the number of Dorado I've caught, I'd have to count the number of Dorado I've caught That is the most prevalent "bluewater" fish in the sea of cortez in Baja where I go between late June through November. They are sometimes referred to as "rats" due to their numbers at certain times. Done the sail thing too. Both those fish are on the easy side of the bluewater spectrum. Well, to hook anyway. They are also both gorgeous and amazing fish.

Capt Gordon, if you ever want to really see what Dorado fishing is like, go to Loreto Mexico between mid July and mid August. There are days where you will have the captain turn the boat around long before you are scheduled to go in. Really... You can get about 5 days on the water for as low as $650 double occupancy, including room and board. And if you go, give me a call, I'll meet you and bring the flies

__________________
"I'm not fat, I just have a sweet hockey body!" Eric Cartman

"Haven't fought a fish for more than an hour? Keep fishing in the sea.
Wasn't it Randall Kaufman who said,"When setting the hook on a Tarpon, feel for the corner of it's mouth."? Who is he writing to there?"

Hey Eddie. Notice I said I haven't spent an hour on a Bluewater fish, no mention of tarpon :hehe: As I've also mentioned earlier, not that I would expect anyone to remember because, hey, why should it memorable, I prefer fish I can cast to. That means Dorado, yellowtail, yellowfin, sails, and small striped marlin.

I think Randall was referring to the now popular circle hook approach of not rushing the hookset, and trying to get a hinge hookup. Something trumpeted by steelhead gurus forever. Heck, Hugh Falkus of atlantic salmon fame advocated using a hook that wasn't super sharp so it wouldn't catch on hard bony parts of the mouth and would instead slide a bit and come to rest in the "scissor" of the mouth. That hardly compares to talking about needing to break a half dozen or so rods before you know how much pressure you can put on a fish...

Hey, it's only rock and roll...

__________________
"I'm not fat, I just have a sweet hockey body!" Eric Cartman

If you're serious, I'd be game! I know a gal who runs a great operation down there. Anything from high end resort (500 bucks from 3 days fishing and great room and board AND open bar all day long ) to $250 flea bag, and try not to eat anything for 3 days fishing.

Bajaclave anyone?

__________________
"I'm not fat, I just have a sweet hockey body!" Eric Cartman